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Waiver Wire
Week 12 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire
The waiver wire is one of the most important keys to finding success in the world of fantasy football. I'll do my best to help you manage the waiver wire to scoop up the players who can help bring you fantasy glory each and every week. If you play in a deeper, more competitive league, and all 15 of these players are already owned, be sure to check out my weekly "Deep Dive" waiver wire column (published Mondays), for some high-upside players to aim for heading into Week 12. We're finally past the bye-week gauntlet, so all of the players are available to us the rest of the way. Just don't forget that there are three games on Thursday this week, so get your lineups set early. For more specific FAAB questions (Free Agent Acquisition Budget), hit me up on Twitter.

Marshawn Lynch was a somewhat surprising inactive in Sunday's game against the 49ers, leaving the running back duties to Thomas Rawls. And boy did he stake his claim as the future of this backfield, rushing for 209 yards, adding 46 through the air, and scoring two touchdowns -- good for 37.5 fantasy points, the most in Week 11. Lynch's abdomen injury is of a lingering nature (he's seeing a specialist this week) and could either limit him the rest of the way, or cost him the season, making Rawls a must-add this week. As Rich Hribar was the first to note, Rawls has games of 104, 169 and 209 rushing yards this season, while Lynch has topped 73 rushing yards once in 2015. Even if Lynch gets healthier, this backfield could turn into a RBBC, with Rawls offering weekly flex appeal at worst, RB1-upside at best if Lynch sits. You should go all in on Rawls this week. FAAB Suggestion: 90-100 percent.

The hits just keep on coming for the Ravens, as Justin Forsett broke his arm in Week 11's game against the Rams, and Joe Flacco tore his ACL. While I won't recommend picking up Matt Schaub in fantasy, Forsett's injury creates a massive opportunity for rookie Javorious Allen. The USC product is a big, physical runner who also can also catch passes out of the backfield, and he should take on a massive workload in Baltimore, especially with the passing game in the hands of Schaub. Allen took on 27 touches and totaled over 100 scrimmage yards in Week 11 once Forsett went down. He'll be on the RB2 radar moving forward and should be one of the top priorities this week off waivers. FAAB Suggestion: 90-100 percent.

Charcandrick West owners can breathe a sigh of relief, as his hamstring injury was labeled "day to day" by head coach Andy Reid after Sunday's win over the Chargers. Nevertheless, Spencer Ware rose from a deep-dive candidate to a must-add handcuff for West owners. It had been clear for weeks that Ware was the preferred backup behind West, and that was evident by his 12 touches on Sunday (Knile Davis had zero). Reid's offense always funnels through the running back, and when West left the game Ware went to work, scoring two touchdowns and totaling 101 yards. He'll really only have value if West misses more time, but hamstring injuries can hang around longer than players (and their owners) like. Ware should be one of the top adds this week, right behind Allen and Rawls. His upside is immense, but he will need West out of the lineup to achieve that, as we saw today. FAAB suggestion: 30-40 percent.

An offseason and early-season darling, Coleman was relegated to watching the Falcons' games from the sidelines after his rib injury paved the way for Devonta Freeman's monstrous season. Well, Freeman's concussion on Sunday against the Colts turned the tables, giving Coleman a chance to earn back some work. Unfortunately, Coleman was routinely bottled up by the Colts' front seven, averaging a paltry 2.8 yards per carry on 17 totes. Still, Freeman's injury was a reminder of the importance of handcuffing your top-tier running backs at this point in the season. Freeman owners will want to scoop up Coleman, and those in need of running back help could look to add Coleman as well. If Freeman clears concussion protocol this week, he'll likely go right back to dominating the backfield touches. Coleman still needs to be added, and if Freeman is out, the rookie will be on the RB2/flex radar. FAAB Suggestion: 25 percent.

For the most part, Bradshaw has been the lightning to Frank Gore's thunder in Indianapolis, and a pass-catching/red-zone specialist. Gore played through a quad injury on Sunday, but it was clear at the end of the game that he was in pain, as the cameras even caught him limping along the sideline at one point in the fourth quarter. That puts Bradshaw into the discussion of a sneaky add this week. He's found the end zone three times in his last two games, and will have flex appeal if he sees more touches while the team spells Gore to help him recover. Of course, we don't yet know the severity of Gore's injury, and he could see his full workload again in Week 12. Either way, those desperate for running back help should give Bradshaw a look. FAAB Suggestion: 10-15 percent.

Andrews is king of the unspectacular but productive fantasy players. In three of the last four games he's received 17-plus touches, and in those games he's put up 8.2, 11.1 and 9.4 fantasy points without getting into the end zone once. Rookie David Cobb was finally activated after returning from the IR boomerang, but finished his NFL debut with negative three rushing yards. Andrews is a safe flex play based on his touch volume in the Tennessee backfield, and has a nice matchup against the Raiders next week, who heading into Week 10 allowed an average of .72 fantasy points per touch to opposing rushers, tied for seventh-worst in the league. At this point in the season, with the running back position as thin as it is, fantasy owners can't turn their noses up at that many touches, especially in a good matchup. FAAB Suggestion: 20 percent.

While Andrews is the king of the unspectacular but productive fantasy players, Draughn is at least some type of lord, depending on what type of government Andrews runs. Draughn was signed off the street by the 49ers in Week 9, and in his two games with the team, he has seen 40 touches, turning them into a respectable 173 total yards. No other back carried the ball for the 49ers, and that trend should continue until Carlos Hyde returns to the field (he's currently dealing with a foot injury). Next up, Draughn has to face a tough Arizona defense, but he just posted solid numbers against two of the best run defenses in the NFL (Atlanta, Seattle). Draughn makes for a decent flex play, and could turn in a real nice fantasy performance if he gets into the end zone, too. His 20-touch volume will be reliable ... unless Hyde suits up, so be sure to monitor that throughout the week. FAAB Suggestion: 15-20 percent.

Aiken's stock took a hit with Joe Flacco tearing his ACL against the Rams, but he's still the No. 1 wideout for the Ravens by default, and should still see plenty of targets from (gulp) Matt Schaub. Aiken saw eight targets against the Rams, catching five for 50 yards and a touchdown. He's led the team in targets with 23 over the last three games, and nothing indicates that will change once Schaub gets under center. Obviously, his ceiling will be lower than we'd like, as the step down from Flacco to Schaub is BIG. However, nabbing a top wideout this late in the season as a WR3 or flex option is never a bad play. FAAB Suggestion: 10-15 percent.

Week 11 was Funchess' first start of his NFL career, and he made it a good one, catching four passes for 64 yards and a touchdown (on eight targets). The rookie has been progressing on the field, as he was making plays we didn't see him execute at Michigan, including actually using his size effectively to box out and body defenders. Philly Brown could return and steal some of the targets once his shoulder heals, but Funchess' recent efforts have certainly earned him more playing time down the stretch. Plus, his size adds an element currently missing from Carolina's wide receiving corps. He's definitely worth an add given his upside for the rest of the season. FAAB Suggestion: 10-15 percent.

With Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal out (again) for the Bears, Wilson had to assume the role of No. 1 wide receiver, and he performed admirably in a tough matchup against the Denver secondary. He caught four of his seven targets for 102 yards, the most by any pass catcher in the game. Wilson's weekly ceiling will come crashing down once Jeffery returns to the lineup, but given Jeffery's litany of injuries this year, Wilson is worth a spot on fantasy benches for when he has opportunities to shine like he did this week. FAAB Suggestion: 10 percent.

The Falcons tried to force targets to Roddy White early on against the Colts, but quickly abandoned that plan. This allowed Hankerson to see more looks as the game went on and return to the No. 2 wide receiver role he'd claimed earlier in the season, before injuries sidelined him at times and limited his impact on the field. Hankerson's box score numbers don't look great on the surface (aside from his touchdown), but those should change moving forward as he starts to see more work ahead of White. He's worth an add as a matchup-based WR3. FAAB Suggestion: 5-10 percent.

Gillmore has quietly emerged as one of the top pass-catchers in the Baltimore offense, and a tight end worth adding in fantasy. He's caught a touchdown in two of his last three games, and went for over 100 yards on Sunday against the Rams, averaging just over five targets a game in that span. He'll face the Browns on Monday Night Football in Week 12, and they've allowed an average of 1.48 fantasy points per target to opposing tight ends, the third-highest number in the NFL. Gillmore is an excellent streaming target for Week 12, and will have weekly value the rest of the season, too. FAAB Suggestion: 15-20 percent.

Starting an Eagles tight end will always be a gamble, but Celek's production has been trending in the right direction recently. He's seen 14 targets the last two weeks, and turned those into 11 catches and 213 yards. Celek was the most targeted pass-catcher by Mark Sanchez in Week 11, as he got 10 looks on the afternoon. The Eagles are on a short week heading up against a Lions defense that hasn't been great at defending tight ends this season. In the four games prior to Week 11, the Lions allowed an average of 13.4 fantasy points to tight ends per game. Celek is more of a streaming option this week, but for those who are struggling to find consistency at the position, he'll definitely be worth a look. The short week for preparation could force Sanchez into defaulting to a safety blanket like Celek when plays break down or he gets pressured. FAAB Suggestion: 5-10 percent.

While the Saints fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan during their bye week, their defensive woes were not all his fault. They have personnel holes all throughout the defense that have allowed the last three teams to face them to average over 43 points per game. For those that are streaming quarterbacks this season, Hoyer's name is one to circle on the Week 12 waiver wire, as he'll likely return from his concussion to lead DeAndre Hopkins and company against the Saints. Prior to suffering his concussion, Hoyer had averaged 19.92 fantasy points per game after winning back the starting job, tossing 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions from Week 4 to Week 8. The last quarterback to face the Saints, Kirk Cousins, had a career day against them, throwing for 324 yards and four touchdowns (28.96 fantasy points). All of this makes Hoyer one of the best streaming options of the week. FAAB Suggestion: 10-15 percent.